Caloric expenditure for weight training.

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jefedesalto
jefedesalto Posts: 154 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Caloric Expenditure for Weight Training



I always have a hard time estimating calorie burn when I'm hitting the weights. I want to know if others have this same problem. My problem stems from having to be completely honest with myself about my session’s intensity. Please read on and leave your opinions.

I found this calculator online and it seems to be accurate but there are many variables to consider when weight training and estimating caloric expenditure.

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

For instance, how much time do you take between sets? It should be 2 minutes or less and your heart rate should stay above 110 BPM. However, anyone who lifts knows that this is a very hard thing to do.

Another thing I have noticed is the treadmill bunnies in my gym. They hog the machines for over an hour at a time and never touch a dumbbell. You can tell the difference when you see those guys in the locker room. No muscle tone and they still have belly fat.

Also, people don't understand that calories burned lifting weights are different than calories burned doing cardio. I included a reference below from women's health online that explains this very well.

"Cardio's edge: Calorie for calorie, cardio has a slight advantage. You'll burn 8 to 10 calories a minute hoisting weight, compared with 10 to 12 calories a minute running or cycling, says Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., director of research at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Strength's edge: Lifting weights gives you a metabolic spike for an hour after a workout because your body is trying hard to help your muscles recover. That means you'll fry an additional 25 percent of the calories you just scorched during your strength session, Westcott says. "So if you burned 200 calories lifting weights, it's really closer to 250 overall." And if you lift heavier weights or rest no more than 30 seconds between sets, you can annihilate even more.

And there's more good news when it comes to iron's fat-socking power. "For every 3 pounds of muscle you build, you'll burn an extra 120 calories a day -- just vegging -- because muscle takes more energy to sustain," Westcott says. Over the course of a year, that's about 10 pounds of fat -- without even changing your diet. Yes, please."

Read more at Women's Health: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/cardio-vs-strength-training-workouts#ixzz29z4U4mjK

All that being said, I prefer weights. Cardio is a necessary evil but I will continue to burn most of my calories in the lunk section of the gym grunting and throwing dumbbells.

And as much as we hate it and wish we could eat whatever we want and just work extra hard at the gym we all know that it is really an 80% nutrition to 20% exercise split. Because really, when you think about it, if you work out 1 hour a day for 5 days a week that is only 5 hours a week of exercise. What really matters is what you are doing the other 163 hours of the week.

I'm curious, what does everyone else here on myfitnesspal find works best for them?

Replies

  • jefedesalto
    jefedesalto Posts: 154 Member
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    Bump
  • jefedesalto
    jefedesalto Posts: 154 Member
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    One more bump before I get off work. I really want to know what you guys think.
  • jefedesalto
    jefedesalto Posts: 154 Member
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    bump
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
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    I've been doing some weight training for about 6 months now - nothing too heavy, but I must be doing something right because I'm seeing some muscle definition where there was none before.

    I imagine an HRM would be helpful to see the immediate caloric burn, but you wouldn't be able to accurately measure the after-effect of the metabolic spike as your muscles recover from your lift session.
    "For every 3 pounds of muscle you build, you'll burn an extra 120 calories a day..."
    How would you know that you've built an extra 3 lbs of muscle?

    I just had a thought too - I lost 0ver 30 lbs after having bilateral knee replacement. I was watching what I ate but I certainly wasn't getting much exercise, which makes me wonder if a lot of it was due to a metablic spike as my body was trying to heal.
    hmmmm... ...interesting.
  • jefedesalto
    jefedesalto Posts: 154 Member
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    "For every 3 pounds of muscle you build, you'll burn an extra 120 calories a day..."
    How would you know that you've built an extra 3 lbs of muscle?

    I just had a thought too - I lost 0ver 30 lbs after having bilateral knee replacement. I was watching what I ate but I certainly wasn't getting much exercise, which makes me wonder if a lot of it was due to a metablic spike as my body was trying to heal.
    hmmmm... ...interesting.

    That is probably true! Your metabolism is increased due to increased muscle tissue. In order to effectively measure if you have put on 3 lbs or 6lbs or 12 lbs of muscle you should start having regular, i.e, monthly body composition checks. Have someone who knows how to check body fat check you once a month. If your body fat percentage is going down but your weight is staying the same or going down slowly then congratulations because you are gaining muscle. The cool thing is once you reach this point it is a great achievement. Elite athletes almost never concern themselves with what the scale says. It turns from worrying about lbs to worrying about inches.

    If you don't have a person to check your body fat let me know and I will send you some info on how the Army/Navy Body fat test works. It isn't quite as accurate as a caliper test but you can do it yourself and track your progress that way.
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
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    I don't log calories burned by weight training. MFP doesn't give you a calorie "allowance" for logging things under Strength, so I figured I didn't need to. ;-) I'm just learning how to eat enough to get close to my daily allowance anyway, so I don't need something else saying I have to eat even more!
  • jefedesalto
    jefedesalto Posts: 154 Member
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    I don't log calories burned by weight training. MFP doesn't give you a calorie "allowance" for logging things under Strength, so I figured I didn't need to. ;-) I'm just learning how to eat enough to get close to my daily allowance anyway, so I don't need something else saying I have to eat even more!

    MFP does let you log strength training but it is under the cardio section. Counter intuitive I know but it gives a pretty accurate estimate. I have to log calories burned as I am trying to get below 7% body fat. I find that the lower the BMI the tighter rope you have to walk with your diet.
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
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    I don't log exercise on MFP. I have a very regular workout schedule and I know to a high degree of accuracy what my TDEE is from tracking my food and weight for close to a year. I just do custom goals based on previous data.

    However, I do have two different "days" in my eating schedule. Lifting days and "rest" days. If I don't lift heavy, I eat my rest day macros and calories. If I lift, I eat lift day calories and macros. Keeps things simple.
  • letjog
    letjog Posts: 260 Member
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    I WISH i knew how much i burn at the gym/running so i could allow myself to eat some more. but i don't want to screw it all up by overestimating exercise calories. it's such a mystery :((

    I did a 17 mile run at the weekend (training for a marathon) and logged it as a 900 calorie burn
    When i do body pump i log as 200 or 250 if i'd upped the weights and sweated but i worry that's overestimating.
    If i do 30mins of HIIT on the bike i log as 200 :((

    I'm 5foot 3 btw and 61kg

    it's all a big guess
  • jefedesalto
    jefedesalto Posts: 154 Member
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    I don't log exercise on MFP. I have a very regular workout schedule and I know to a high degree of accuracy what my TDEE is from tracking my food and weight for close to a year. I just do custom goals based on previous data.

    However, I do have two different "days" in my eating schedule. Lifting days and "rest" days. If I don't lift heavy, I eat my rest day macros and calories. If I lift, I eat lift day calories and macros. Keeps things simple.

    This is kind of similar to how I do it. But I try to keep my intensity level high every day I lift so I can track my burn more accurately. Plus it's nice to have that extra chicken breast or whatever to reward myself.
  • jefedesalto
    jefedesalto Posts: 154 Member
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    I WISH i knew how much i burn at the gym/running so i could allow myself to eat some more. but i don't want to screw it all up by overestimating exercise calories. it's such a mystery :((

    I did a 17 mile run at the weekend (training for a marathon) and logged it as a 900 calorie burn
    When i do body pump i log as 200 or 250 if i'd upped the weights and sweated but i worry that's overestimating.
    If i do 30mins of HIIT on the bike i log as 200 :((

    I'm 5foot 3 btw and 61kg

    it's all a big guess

    WOW! I wouldn't even begin to count calorie expenditure for a 17 mile run. lol well If I trained like you I guess I would just listen to my body and hope it told me what I needed.
  • CLCinNOLA
    CLCinNOLA Posts: 82 Member
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    How many calories are used in weightlifting is an enigma, a question that may never be answered to my complete satisfaction. I also wear an HRM, just to add more to my confusion.

    All in all, I deal with this dilemma by paying more attention to my level of hunger (not appetite, true hunger). I eat somewhere between zero activity calories and half of what my HRM says, depending on what feels right. Wish I had a clear, unequivocal answer to the question but I do not think that is available.
  • omnisis
    omnisis Posts: 85 Member
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    It really depends on individual metabolism when you are doing intense resistance training and are already lean (< 15% BF). I am on a weights + cardio program right now and I keep my diet regular and adjust if I am not losing. I gave up counting calories -- there are too many variables. I just try to get 5-6 healthy protein packed meals a day.

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